So far I've experienced 3 stages of summer school, which I believe are much like the stages of grief. Or maybe totally different.
Day/Stage 1: "Where's the nearest escape route?"
Day/Stage 2: "At least it only lasts for 1 month..."
Day/Stage 3: "Wait, I kind of like these little guys!"
I wouldn't say that I've reached full blown acceptance of my summer school situation, BUT there have been major improvements since Monday.
On Monday, I wasn't sure where to be, what to do, how to talk to 4th graders, and where the busses load...among other things. Elementary is a whole new ballgame. They require your attention 110% of the time. They want to be the helper. They aren't capable of choosing their own seats. They cannot deal with "Hold on just one moment." It is really and truly exhausting. Pretty sure I took a 4 hour long nap on Monday. It was more stressful for me simply because I didn't know the schedule or the building, plus I was/am teaching out of someone else's classroom. I don't like being out of my element!
Fortunately Tuesday went more smoothly. I knew where to send the kids and was somewhat familiar with how the bus routes worked. I struggled a bit more with classroom management, though. I felt as if I had very little leverage. There are no grades, so that's not a motivator; students are whisked in and out of the room so fast that I feel like I can't really connect with them; and although the head of summer school helps with discipline it's not the same structure that I'm used to. Basically all I'm left with is "please do your work" and "I'd hate to have to call your parents." Neither of those inspire greatness.
Today I was actually dreading the lesson because I was going to ask them to work with a partner. Based on the partner - work skill level of my 6th graders I assumed it would be tragic. When it came time to work, I was shocked at how well the kids did! They put more thought and effort into their work than some of my Pre-AP do! Walking around the room, I heard kids say "Let's go back and look in the story," and "I said my ideas, now what are yours?" Is this real life?? I don't even work with adults that well! ;) I can only assume that they have some rockin' 4th grade teachers that have groomed them to be able to do this. I was blown away. Even the kids that I initially labeled as troublemakers jumped in and worked well together. It was awesome. (It didn't hurt that they were competing for candy :)
So, although they still exhaust me, these kiddos are really starting to grow on me. I still think I am better suited for secondary, but I'm confident that I will survive the summer.
My first 4th grade rookie mistake? Telling a student that I am not very good at teaching math, and that I didn't want to confuse him on his homework. The student heard "I won't help you," when what I really meant was "You reaaalllyy don't want me to teach you math! It's for your own good." I've got to learn how to word things differently. Maybe I should learn some math as well!
-Mrs. Combs
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